If
you hang out with me for too long you ultimately find out two major things.
One, I am extremely passionate about film, and two, I am unabashedly a
feminist. Put those two together and you will usually have to listen to me rant
about Twilight. My tirades do not focus on the actual film;
cinematography, character development, etc., but about the message I believe is
being sent to young girls by a whining young adult female who is weak, needs a
man to survive and has no identity or desire to get one of her own. Just
because this is my personal philosophy does not mean that I go to movies
looking for that message; I like to go in a theater and enjoy a film for what
it is meant to be. So when I went to see The Avengers a few weeks ago, I
was not expecting a cinematic masterpiece with a message that would make an impact.
I was going to see an action movie with manly superheroes, explosions and some
vapid yet beautiful women placed in the background.
When
exiting the theater I successfully hid the inner movie geek inside of me from
my date with simple responses like “It was good”, “Amazing special effects” and
“Robert Downey Jr. really stole the show”; but inside I was giddy. Not because
of the action, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but because the emergence and
spotlight of some strong, smart and tough female characters. I successfully put
my personal, loathing feelings about Scarlett Johansson aside (although I will
say I did punch a little bit harder in kickboxing class the next day thanks to
her Black Widow) and reveled in the fact that although yes, she is clad in a
skintight jump suit, she uses her brains and her skill to fight the good fight.
An
article by The New Agenda, a website dedicated to
women’s rights, spoke about the images and messages that came across the screen
and how The Avengers could definitely qualify as a “feminist
film”. Women have had films and television series about female unity tied
in with the ability to be strong and fight evil with projects like the campy Charlie’s
Angels. The film’s director Joss Whedon is even a well-known female rights
activist who is already responsible for creating strong female images such as
his long running and fan favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer which
highlighted a strong, smart and cunning lead female character. Black Widow
however, is a woman fighting along side the men where the boys club has been
infiltrated by an (for all intents and purposes) average woman with no super
powers who can stand up for herself and man-kind with no complaint.
The appeal this film made to females by including strong characters (and
some male eye-candy as well), a film that’s original key demographic were males
18-25 as mentioned in The New Agenda’s article, the audience was filled
with 40% women. I even appreciated that the use of “feminine wiles” were used
to manipulate and coerce desired outcomes in order to get vital information
from the “bad guy” and help the noble cause. It is using the tools we are
given. If a man used verbal manipulation to get what he needs it is seen as
fair play and smart but when a woman does the same thing, it is tricky and
sadistic, but not for Black Widow!
The
topic of whether or not The Avengers is “a feminist film” has been a hot
issue in the Hollywood blogosphere. Articles like the now infamous Moviefone piece, “Girl’s Guide
to The Avengers” (which due to intense criticism, has since modified the
name of the article), have made the assumption that not only does Black Widow
not stand out as a strong, independent female character but that a female
audience would not understand an action movie to begin with. Scott Mendelson
however summed up the beauty I find with the topic of feminism in The
Avengers nicely in his blog for Hollywoodnews.com. Not only did Whedon
intentionally make a statement with this character and a feminist message but
drew attention to it by NOT drawing attention to it. The audience came to it
organically and was able think for themselves.
Now,
I really am not taking all of this that seriously and although I do
legitimately have a problem with Twilight and its anti-feminist message,
it is mostly due to the audience the message is intended for and their ability
to decipher reality from fiction and positive from negative. I take The
Avengers as it was intended and for whom it was intended, but nonetheless,
I left that theater feeling a little bit stronger.
